We have of course
spoken in another article of
the West’s juridical mentality
as
expressed in their perception of the “Antilytron”, as well as in
the problems related to such a mentality. In that article, we
had analysed the hermeneutical and theological problems that
such
viewpoints presented.
However, in the present article we would like to expand on one
further point, namely, on how this juridical mentality
and stance towards the Antilytron -
when
analysed carefully - essentially does not only NOT
explain the meaning behind the Lord’s sacrifice, but on the
contrary, it abolishes it altogether,
as
regards its
significance in relation to Death!
For Western Man to want
to see the Lord’s sacrifice as a “juridical thriller” not only
misrepresents God as a tough judge and an unfair referee; it
actually places that person at the antipodes of the upright
(orthodox) faith!
Let us
therefore suppose for the moment, that God could indeed
(alternatively) be regarded as a tough judge who would “demand”
the death of someone innocent in place of someone irreverent; a
judge who would demand “ransoms”
in order to free someone, or would judge mankind overall for the
disobedience of only one. Let us suppose for the moment that
sending someone innocent to the Cross in order to satisfy a
(savage and primitive) thirst for blood is not a gruesomely
irreverent and blasphemous act, and that it could (even
in a crude manner)
relate to God’s self-description of “Love”. Let us also suppose
that someone could actually love such an unjust and demented
judge.
If we were
to
accept
all the above as an alternative answer to the question: “why did
Christ finally die?”, then what would the repercussions be on
the issue of “victory over death”, with such an admission?
According to the Christian perception of this event, the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ was a blatant injustice!
Not only did it
NOT “satisfy” God’s justice,
but on the contrary, it offended it!
One must keep in mind that we will all die, and that none of us
is devoid of responsibility
in the face of
death;
because our sinfulness, our fallen nature, leads us to a
multitude of transgressions during the course of our lives.
Albeit this does NOT imply that God condemns us to death for
our transgressions (in a juridical sense), it also does not give
us the right to demand our exemption from the finale that is
common to all living beings! Besides, what is it that we have -
that the others don’t - to want to live without dying?
Every sin of ours constitutes an “incriminating document”
against us; not for God,
but for the devil!
With every
single
sin of ours, we
are “signing our own condemnation” to the dark world of Hades
and are placing ourselves under the authority “of the one who
has the power over death, namely the devil” (Hebr. 2:14). With
every sin, the devil and “his dark power” acquires legal rights
over us, because we ourselves place him in our lives, through
disobedience. And thus, in death, he is
the
rightful
owner of
our soul! Because it is written: “The wages
of sin is death”
(Rom. 6:23).
But with Christ
something else happened!
Christ,
throughout
His life,
had NEVER
sinned. He did not give the devil the slightest cause, the
slightest
reason
to
hold any authority whatsoever over Him. He did not
allow the devil to
have the slightest
legal right
over Him!
The Lord Jesus Christ Himself had said: “Who among you can
check me for sin?” (John
8:46) And He
had furthermore
said: “The ruler of this world (the devil), has no rights
whatsoever over me” (John 14:30).
And thus we
come to
the Crucifixion!
Christ was the “bait”.
He had
PROVOKED
the devil with His life, with His stance, with His teaching. He
had won
over the
devil at his every step. Christ forgave sins, healed illnesses,
drove out demons, exposed wrongdoings and He accumulated
followers. He had become a thorn in the eye of the devil and of
course
the
devil
wanted
Him
“out of the way”!
Indeed, this was accomplished, with the Crucifixion. Satan had
fervently desired to
be rid of
the One who was “ruining things” for him. And now it appeared
that he had achieved it,
with
Christ’s crucifixional sacrifice – the event that we all know.
But then,
just as
Christ was leaving
His last breath on the Cross and the Devil was rejoicing for
having one less enemy, he suddenly suffered his greatest defeat!
Up until
that time, all those who had died had JUSTLY DIED and had been
led to the dark kingdom of Hades.
Up until
that time, the
devil had justly demanded to have authority over those who
during their lifetime had obeyed his will instead of God’s. God
did not insist on saving those who had chosen sin during their
lifetime!
Christ, on
the other hand, was BLAMELESS!
Satan
therefore
had no authority over Him!
The devil had no legal right
to say: “He
is mine, and I am rightfully placing Him under my authority in
Hades”. Christ
DID NOT BELONG TO
HIM! Satan
had
therefore overstepped the authority that was given to him!
Thus, by killing the
SINLESS One,
Satan
exposed
himself! He exposed himself as a
predator,
and death was exposed as a LAWLESS KINGDOM. That is why Christ
now rightfully demanded SATISFACTION! He was the only One who
was wronged by death, and therefore now rightfully demanded the
abolition of Death! That is why He now also rightfully descended
upon Hades with His angelic hosts, DEMANDING JUSTICE.
Lacking every kind of excuse, the devil no longer had any
legal right to resort to, because he had been exposed before all
of Creation as an unjust ruler, who had illegally detained the
Righteous One! Thus the angelic forces had
rightfully invaded Hades
and demolished its age-old status quo, emptying its halls of all
those souls who sought deliverance from the Sinless one; from
the only One who had descended there and who could RIGHTFULLY
demand His return to the world of the living! That is why
Christ, with His Crucifixional sacrifice, “laid bare all
principalities and powers; He fully humiliated them, publicly.”
(Col. 2:15).
Following the UNJUST MURDER of the Innocent one (the ONLY
INNOCENT ONE), Death now looms ILLEGAL AND ABUSIVE. It now
shows itself as a contra-natural state, and a process under
abolition. Death now ceased to be “the natural meeting
point of sinners” and has become “the reigning dynasty of the
Devil, the unjust dictator”. Death was thus subjected to the
gradual process of being abolished. Firstly through the
righteous ones - who no longer pass through Hades, but instead
enter the Paradise of souls - and then, (during the Second
Coming of Christ) through the unrighteous ones - who will also
receive bodies in order to be judged fairly; certainly more
fairly than being indefinitely detained by the now exposed,
illegal prison of Hades.
It is for this reason that Christ allowed Himself to be
crucified and to die, albeit without deserving to. It was NOT to
satisfy any supposed sense of “justice” of a demented “god”, who
juridically demanded the death of one righteous person for the
sake of the many unrighteous. On the contrary, He allowed
Himself to become the bait, in order to EXPOSE the devil and his
entire kingdom as ILLEGAL AND ABUSIVE. Christ could then
justifiably demand their abolition, as recompense.
Christ was human when He died, and the injustice imposed on
Him was imposed on His human nature; except that this human
nature IS ALSO OURS! And in Christ, we now demand our OUR RIGHTS
ALSO! United in the Body of Christ - The Church - we now demand
our own exemption from Hades, as a counterbalance for the
transgression that was imposed on our Head: on Christ.
Thus, it is Christians who are now exempt from Hades and are
led into the
paradise of Souls
-
another
kingdom altogether, which does not belong to the Devil. Those
who are left stranded with the devil (until the day of
resurrection) are only the souls THAT HAVE WILLINGLY PREFERRED
THE DEVIL, by denying their Only Saviour - the Only one with
the right to demand their release from Hades.
Having seen how Christ’s sacrifice “functions” against Hades and
Death, let us return to the issue of the Western juridical
mentality regarding the sacrifice of Christ. Observe how -
apart from blaspheming against God – this mentality also leads
to the annulment of Christ’s sacrifice:
If Christ’s sacrifice had indeed taken place “upon demand” by
God, simply to satisfy His sense of “divine justice” as the
Westerners claim, then we must surmise that :
-
NO INJUSTICE ACTUALLY TOOK PLACE (with Christ’s Crucifixion)!
-
Death and Hades operated within their legal boundaries!
-
Christ JUSTLY DIED, because it was “upon demand” by God!
-
The devil justly killed Christ in place of the guilty (since His
death was the…..divine will of God)!
- Death itself is NOT exposed as an ABUSIVE status, but on the
contrary, it is projected as a NECESSITY and even as a
REDEMPTIVE measure!
- The devil rightfully continues to maintain the kingdom of Hades
under his authority, as he has not overstepped the authority
given to him; on the contrary, he was “used”, in order for God’s
sense of justice to be satisfied.
-
Christ was therefore
ILLICITLY RESURRECTED,
given that He had restored what had been justly taken away from
Him “upon demand” by God (=His life).
If the Western
juridical view regarding the Antilytron is accepted, then:
-
Death is NOT ABOLISHED
-
The devil is NOT EXPOSED
-
Hades is NOT EMPTIED
-
Human nature is NOT VINDICATED and
- None of us can demand exemption from the kingdom of Hades,
because both Christ and human nature WERE NOT WRONGED!
If the Western
view on the Antilytron is true, then we had better search for
another Saviour and another God, because this view is rife with
charlatanism!